The Hand of Confession – Chapter 72

Volume 3: Days of Working at the Manor

Female Newbie

A Smart Person

Shen Maomao’s gaze swept around the dance floor and finally spotted an old acquaintance, Dewdrop, in a corner.

Dewdrop stood in the corner of the banquet hall, not sure what she was doing. Shen Maomao quietly moved in that direction, wanting to ask Dewdrop what had happened in the castle after they left. But just after taking two steps forward, the noble who had been standing in front of Dewdrop moved away, and the candlelight shone back on the ground at her feet…

Shen Maomao widened her eyes, staring hard at that part of the floor. The ground was empty, with no shadow.

Damn!

Why bother with any reunion, going over there would be like going to die.

She silently withdrew her steps, returning to her original place, and quietly squatted behind a long table covered with a floor-length tablecloth. Although this spot was at the side, it was not the farthest edge, and there were often servants carrying trays passing by. Each passerby couldn’t help glancing at her twice. Thankfully, these big sisters all had shadows, but squatting here wasn’t a long-term plan.

If Lou Jingmo and Little Golden Retriever couldn’t get in, then she was the only one who could participate in the plot development, so she had to stay, at least until the party ended.

She looked around and didn’t find a better hiding spot, so she gritted her teeth, lifted the tablecloth, and crawled under the table.

Then she successfully made eye contact with another pair of eyes.

Shen Maomao almost screamed.

The person quickly rushed forward to cover her mouth and whispered into her ear, “Don’t shout! Give the secret code! Are you a player?”

Upon hearing this, Shen Maomao’s shoulders uncontrollably shivered twice, and her overly tense nerves relaxed all of a sudden. She nodded, signaling for the woman to let go.

It was a bit dark under the tablecloth, but she still made out the person’s appearance—it was that female newcomer, the governess of the four young ladies.

Shen Maomao asked her, “Why are you here?”

The woman said, “Because there aren’t any shadows here.”

By reflex, Shen Maomao looked down and saw it was dark enough under the tablecloth that neither of them had shadows on the ground.

From her words, Shen Maomao realized she must know something, so she immediately asked, “What happened?”

The newcomer didn’t hesitate to share her experience: “You must have just arrived, right? I was here when the party started. Before these people began dancing, a bunch of shadows rushed in from the door… you all are experienced players, you should understand what I mean, right? It’s kind of unbelievable, shadows could even disappear!”

“Some of those shadows held knives, slashing at other shadows randomly, and the people who got slashed became shadowless people; some shadows covered over others and then doubled in size, like they ate the other shadow.”

“A lot of people’s shadows disappeared, but then new shadows grew under their feet. I feel like I’ve used the word ‘shadow’ quite a lot, but anyway, after that, I couldn’t tell whose shadows were gone and whose were still intact.”

“I was almost scared to pee myself! In a panic, I just hid under the table… I was watching you wandering outside, and I didn’t expect you to crawl in here too.”

Shen Maomao replied, “Isn’t this a coincidence?”

The woman pursed her lips and smiled a little, giving her some face, then quickly returned to a worried look, “Did you discover anything?”

Shen Maomao said, “Do the young ladies in the picture frames outside coming out to play count?”

“Damn,” the woman cursed, “This is like being attacked from both sides.”

Shen Maomao, tired of squatting, simply sat down on the ground. She bent her knees, wrapped her arms around her legs, rested her head on her knees, and asked her, “Did the other governess teach you the basics?”

The woman nodded, “His name is Shang Zhou, he’s a nice person, I survived up to now thanks to his care…”

“Which ‘Shang,’ which ‘Zhou’?”

“‘Shang’ as in merchant, and ‘Zhou’ as in boat.”

Shen Maomao kept this name in her heart; she suspected this Shang Zhou might be the map-exploring expert (a term commonly used in gaming communities to refer to someone skilled at navigating or clearing game maps), but she had no proof. She could remember the name and ask Lou Jingmo about it later.

“What about this Shang Zhou person?”

The woman replied, “He said he was going to look for clues and told me to be careful on my own. We arrived earlier than you, so I might know a bit more. This party is disguised as a masquerade ball, but it’s actually about selling the four young ladies…”

She sighed, “The baron collects beautiful girls for his own amusement or to trade them to other nobles, gaining benefits from them.”

Shen Maomao spat, “Trash!”

The woman agreed, “Isn’t he? Shang Zhou’s job is to teach them knowledge, and I’m responsible for teaching them manners and…” She paused before continuing, “and how to please men.”

Shen Maomao: “Scum!”

The woman: “Alas, in this era, a girl’s life isn’t worth much. Also, that Miss, I forgot which one, whether it’s Vera or Ravi, she’s quite willing to be sold as a product. In her words, she’s glad she’s pretty enough to be chosen by the baron to become a high-status person…”

Indeed, if it weren’t for this situation, she would never have worn such exquisite clothes, adorned herself with these beautiful jewels, and enjoyed the delicacies eaten by nobles…

But these things should be consensual, and surely there are those who don’t want to be sold as “products.” However, given their status, even if they don’t want to, they probably can’t resist.

Shen Maomao said, “Aren’t there quite a few who are unwilling? Have those young ladies in front already been harmed?”

“Who knows? But these four new young ladies aren’t exactly normal humans either; I’ve been attacked by their shadows…” The woman did her best to explain everything she had experienced over the past two days, occasionally cursing the game creators. In the end, she said, “That’s about all I’ve been through. You guys are experienced players, you know more than I do, so please think of a way to get out of here. If you find the exit and I’m still alive, please let me know, seeing as I’ve tried to help a bit…”

This woman was exceptionally clear-headed, which made Shen Maomao look up to her a bit more.

She was very aware of her own abilities and understood her position from the start. She also cherished her life and was afraid of death, so she wouldn’t hide information like Yun Shengjin, but instead, she obediently handed over clues. This might be why that expert was willing to take the time to look after her.

Shen Maomao had gone through three scenarios and seen all kinds of players. Among them were the naive, reckless newcomers, the selfish type like Yun Shengjin, the ones who couldn’t see the big picture like Ye Tingnan and Shao Mei, and then there was Lin Fei, the daredevil who dared to sleep with ghosts…

But it was the first time she had seen such a smart newcomer who didn’t cause trouble—perhaps it was also because she hadn’t met many people.

Her impression of this woman instantly rose by two levels.

After exchanging information, they began to pay attention to the situation at the party outside. The long table was quite broad, with one of them at the head and the other at the tail, lying on the ground and peeking outside through the gap in the tablecloth.

The opening dance was nearing its end, and the music became exceptionally long. Shen Maomao couldn’t help but yawn, feeling drowsy.

With a “thud,” her forehead hit her arm, waking her up instantly. The once long music became even more drawn out, as if slowed down many times. The distorted sound was very deep and eerie, like a chilling wind blowing across her back, causing her to shiver uncontrollably.

The music was stretched infinitely, and the people in the dance floor moved in a similarly stretched manner, as if the record was skipping, creating a very uncomfortable noise.

Shen Maomao got goosebumps all over and kicked the woman’s leg.

The woman suddenly woke up too, huddling together with Shen Maomao and shivering.

The strange state in the dance floor didn’t last long. Soon, a cheerful song came from somewhere, contrasting sharply with the party’s music.

Shen Maomao’s face turned pale.

She was very familiar with the song that followed, almost to the point of being able to sing it herself…

“Ring around the roses,

A pocket full of posies,

Ashes! Ashes!

We all fall down.”

Oh no! Oh no!

We all fall down!

The singing stopped, and the people in the dance floor suddenly fell down in groups. At the moment they fell, the shadows under their feet separated from their soles, like children finally free from their parents’ constraints, quickly darting up the walls and ceiling, refusing to return to their owners’ sides.

The remaining people standing had no shadows and continued their dance moves, like wind-up dolls that weren’t fully wound, moving their bodies slowly and mechanically.

“Ashes! Ashes!

We all fall down.”

Turned to ashes! Turned to ashes!

All dead!

A wisp of dust was blown up by the wind coming through the shutters, and the fallen people scattered like sand paintings, turning into swirling dust.

At the same time, the walls of the banquet hall began to liquefy, bubbling up in several places. Multicolored viscous liquid flowed down from the walls, slowly and steadily spreading forward.

It was oil paint…

“No way!” Shen Maomao put down the tablecloth she had slightly lifted and turned to the woman, saying, “We have to find a way to leave!”

Just as she finished speaking, the heavy metal door of the banquet hall slammed shut with a “duang” sound, leaving them no chance to escape.

“Damn! What do we do now?” the woman asked in panic.

Shen Maomao lay flat on the ground, “Leave it to fate.”

Woman: “…”

They were close to the wall, and as the flowing paint was about to pass by the long table, Shen Maomao suddenly lifted the tablecloth and crawled forward, not forgetting to warn the other, “Don’t touch the paint!”

The paint gave her a very bad feeling, even worse than these singing shadows outside, and no one knew what would happen if they touched it.

The woman quickly followed her, and they crawled past the nobles frozen in place, rushing to the center of the dance floor, standing back to back.

A puddle of paint, defying Newton’s laws of motion, “stood” up from the ground, gradually forming a human shape. That person had lake-green eyes and bright golden hair.

Shen Maomao called out her name in a deep voice—

“Vivian.”

---

---